Steve Angelou ([email protected])

Yes he still lives, as David Savelii with a nine year old daughter, complete with an appendectomy, etc.

He gently made his first money attempt by telling me his daughter had left a knapsack with his wallet, watch and her electronics in Germany as they connected on their way to Cape Town (or wherever in South Africa). I asked him why his daughter had the knapsack, seemed like a "bad choice" to me. He didn't ask me for help. Good. I would have said "no" in a New York second. So he made a good choice there, at least for the moment, but I had already started googling his emails, not to the extent I have done now. I actually accused him one time, of copy and pasting, and he just gently sluffed it off; he sent things "from his heart".

He is very charming and attentive. If it wasn't for all his reused material I would have stuck with him for awhile. I was suppose to speak with him tonight but just a little earlier googled his very original message and that really revealed the repetitiveness and consistency of his scam/story. I simply emailed him "sorry, didn't call, will explain tomorrow" and now I need to decide what to do/say. Maybe nothing? Just cut him off without any explanation? I will read some more here before deciding exactly what to do. I think it's too bad we can't catch him; it's a shame other women will have to go through this before they realize.

Thanks for doing a great job capturing all the info so I could get out before I was too emotionally invested. I would have NEVER given this guy money but I would have been very hurt and insulted to have been asked. Disgusting.

Best,

Mary

Welcome here melorigan.

Like you already suggested, the best thing is to cut him off and nevver write to him again. Just ignore him is the best, and when he twigs and knows you won't give him any money, he'll leave you alone. I am glad you figured the scammer out before you got too much involved in his scam. Yes, they can be very charming, and do anything to gain your trust. They are good at what they do, it's daily business for them.

He's still at it! David Savelii found me on Match and immediately started sending me heartfelt emails. I finally had to tell him he was coming on too strong and that I wasn't really interested. That was last winter. Yesterday, I received an email from him pleading for us to start up our relationship again. We never had a relationship! He's really scary. Told me he had a 9 year old daughter that lives in England. He's an engineer working in the states on a special assignment - I think Las Vegas. He wants to find a home so he can bring his daughter here to the states. He never asked me for money but he seemed to be in a big hurry to secure our relationship (or lack thereof). I have pictures of him but I don't know how to post them on here. I'm taking your advice and just ignoring him. What a loser!

Welcome to ScamWarners lkduluth It is great that you realized you were dealing with a scammer. Please post up the email address he was using to send messages to you. We do welcome posting photos as long as you follow the guidelines here: viewtopic.php?f=28&t=3219

I was contacted on Match.com by this same fellow - claiming to be a widower, Kevin Baloteli ([email protected]) from England with 11 year old daughter Vanessa. He told me he was currently in Wyoming, and he gave me a Wyoming phone number which I called. It was the strangest conversation - he said he wanted to fly to Seattle the next day and that he "knew we could make it work". Not a normal "first conversation" for someone you don't know.

I am beginning to be very cynical about these dating sites.....

I was just on Match for a weekend, and had this fellow (Kevin) and also one from Alabama (or so he said) whose wife also died in childbirth and he had a young son. This is very weird.....
Evelyn

This is my guy. He just scammed me - I feel pretty dumb have to say. He goes by Peter Bennett, a civil engineer who was awarded a contract in Cape Town and had to leave Toronto before he could meet me, only child, divorced for 5 yrs, wife died last year in car crash, has one daughter, Zara 13 yrs old.
After few weeks of emailing he hit me up for a cell phone, then cash. The intro emails are identical to what you have already posted. I'm sick and embarrassed that I fell for his lies.

Here's one of his first emails.

Please read this carefully and let me know what you think.......I understand that there are many different ways to partner, and I try not to judge other people’s choices, but for me, I would like to find an equal partner, someone who contributes as much as I do to a relationship. This doesn’t have to be about money, but in totality, the work, effort and total contribution we bring. I have expectations for myself, and in the past I’ve found it difficult to find someone who had similarly high expectations for themselves.

It seems like so many people want to do ‘just enough’ to get by, but I want more than that.

As a basic foundation I think there should be respect for each other’s freedom (though to make a partnership work, I believe that we have to freely choose to take our partner and our family into consideration when we make choices), honesty and openness, I don’t believe that ‘little white lies’ are harmless or kind, I believe that honesty, even if we don’t want to hear what someone has to say, is always more kind in the long run.

I think it’s especially important for partners to be able to trust each other, without that, it just seems like everything falls apart. I also think it’s important to be able to express your needs and wants to each other. And make decisions together about how to meet them. I believe it’s important to be kind to each other, not to be callous with each other’s hearts.

To have compassion and empathy for each other and be willing to really listen to what your partner has to say. I want to support my partner in achieving her dreams, and feel supported by them in accomplishing mine. I want to work together with my partner to make decisions as a family, and share our power, well....

He is currently using: [email protected]

This is one seriously sick dude. I'm pretty sure he'll be using my photos to scam other men. Unfortunately I also sent him a copy of my drivers license, please don't ask, I'm embarrassed enough. Sadly my pictures will be a big help to him.. I told him a few days ago he was a liar and a cheat and he completely denied it all. He really needs to be caught but I suppose there must be many more like him but holy shit I cannot believe I fell for his lies. Its a bit scary thinking he knows where I live even though he's in Cape Town and I'm in Toronto. How do you stop someone like this?

Welcome to ScamWarners jackiecc . I am sorry you got scammed. Sadly, there is little to nothing that can be done to catch them. They hide behind fake names, throw away phone numbers and email addresses that do not reflect who they are at all.

The best thing we can do is expose their scripts, actions and email addresses. You can help othrs not fall victim to a scam by posting the scammers information here for all to see.

I was scammed so bad by this guy - I'm still reeling from it and feeling so pissed off at him. Really need to let it go.

I'm sorry you were scammed Jackie.

It looks like you have cut off all contact wth him already, but just in case you haven't, I will reiterate that you need to.

I wouldn't worry about him having your address. The truth is, you can get that same information about millions of people online anyway. He is hiding behind fake identities and looking for quick cash. Between the false information he provides and the corrupt law enforcement in his area, he faces little risk of punishment. But, he is not likely to come anywhere near you, as that would require spending money--which is the opposite of his goal. In addition, traveling to you would put him at much greater risk, as he not be able to hide very easily (even if he were able to get a fake passport/visa, which is also costly and difficult, he would be on camera at airports, would be subject to inspection by customs/border agencies, etc.)--and if he tried anything, he would be facing law enforcement that would take action against him. He may threaten you (some scammers do) but he is not going to take serious risks for no payout.

I also wouldn't worry too much about your photos. Only a very small percentage of photos scammers receive are reused, especially in romance scams. Romance scammers targeting men typically use photos of models or porn actresses in their late teens or 20's. They prefer models with an abundance of swimsuit, lingerie, and/or porn photos, because they typically use sex as their primary tool when targeting men. In addition, many scammers targeting males use fake webcam, and for that reason, they use porn actresses with lots of decent-quality video that they can manipulate to create the fake webcam.

Thanks thats good to know.
I played with this guy for about the last week when I knew he was scamming me. He was coming up with the most pathetic reasons for needing money - he was sick and needed this and that for medication. After about a week I told him he was scamming me and he was lying about everything He replied denying everything but at one point he did send a reply that was signed "Me" pretty much admitting he was not who he said he was. The best part is at the end of it all he said it was only a loan and he was going to pay me back. When I asked him when he was planning on doing that, I never did get a reply. (surprise).
I'm still pretty pissed at myself for being so foolish but I can guarantee it will not happen again. I'm emailing this guy now from California (sucker for punishment or what? lol) who is in a big hurry to get my personal email address so he can send me photos and his long introduction story. Whats up with that?
He might even be legit but something tells me hes not and part of me just wants to see what he's up to and thats why I responded to him in the first place. I have to admit I was searching to see if my first SICKO was back at it with a different MO and this guy showed up.
Any thoughts?

Any thoughts?

Yes, scammers lie. They are always working an angle to get money from who ever they are emailing.

Drop all communication with them once you realize they are a scammer. Nothing good will come from stringing them along especially when they have your real email address and possibly real information about you and or your family. Just walk away from them, it will not hurt their feelings regardless of what they may say to you.

You are right I know nothing good can come of it. Still licking my wounds I guess. I'm really quite an intelligent woman, lol, but looking back at what I did makes me feel like a complete idiot. I made up a new email address and gave it to him and he sent me some strange email professing his love for me and he's so happy we are "friends". $?%$@! me, I barely know him. Obviously match and all the dating sites are a playground for these criminals. Fortunately I learned my lesson but he's still on match. I will see how wierd he gets and report his suspicious behavior and maybe it will save one person the headache.

I was in communication with a man who was from Greece, lived in Athens, GA, went to Cape Town, South Africia and there was suddenly a crane accident and all his luggage was vanilized. He went by Richard Taylor
1115 @yahoo.com. It all sounded good until he asked me for money. There was no way. Hope I can help someone.

Welcome here Reitpferd.

You are very lucky with such a friend. I hope you found out about the scam before you lost any money. If you received some emails that are a bit different then the ones already posted here, or if this scammer is using different email addresses now, could you post them here please?

This sounds very similar to Mike Williams, [email protected], an Irish/Russian "engineer" from Manchester, formerly from Ireland, a Catholic widower, with a 18 year old daughter, Cindy,[email protected], who stays at home with the nanny, Linda, while he completes projects around the world. Lost his parents to a car accident and left Ireland because the family disputed his claim to father's property. Lost his wife to breast cancer, because he was on a project, and didn't have the money to pay for her treatment. Very specific in dollar amounts in every email. Met him on Match.com, Mikewilliams8764, contacted me, then was no longer on the site. He was in Texas on a project, had to go home suddenly because daughter was in an 'almost' auto accident, had to pay her bill so she could get treatment, then had to go to Capetown South Africa for the "rest of the project", taking his daughter with him. After a few days, the "incident" occurred, then the phone call telling me about it. After that the email came talking about the specific amount of money he needed to rent the replacement crane, 2 workers injured, and his own injuries, and asking for a loan if I could. When I returned with an email that I didn't have money to send, the phone calls started. Emails started out with very good English, then grammar and spelling deteriorated. The voice on the phone didn't sound Irish or English, but the connection was always poor. Was professing love very quickly and persistently, and had the 'daughter' emailing also. Phone # in Cape Town was 278-334-60601, the one he used in Texas was 213-516-7444, which is also active. I left a message on that phone and he called and said his nanny told him I called, that he had left that phone at home in the UK. That # is an LA CA area code. He gave me an address in the UK, in a suburb of Manchester, 6 Condor Close Droylsden, England united kingdom. It all sounded good until he asked me for money. Felt stupid, but will move on. I have pictures he sent of "himself" and his "daughter".